The Walled Lake School District recognized second-grader Hayden House and third-grade teacher Meagen Granberry, both at Mary Helen Guest Elementary School, as Friend of Diversity Award recipients.

They were recognized Jan. 16 at the district’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Walled Lake Northern High School with more than 400 people in attendance.

“Walled Lake Schools continues to build a culture around taking action for social justice. I am proud that our 2017 Friend of Diversity Award recipients, Hayden House and Meagen Granberry, who are making significant contributions toward bringing social justice projects to our students, staff, community and for those less fortunate," said Kenneth Gutman, Walled Lake superintendent. "These two individuals, one a young student and the other an accomplished educator, exemplify what it means to be an upstander. Bystanders are on the sidelines watching while upstanders take decisive action that benefits others. We are proud of the intentional choices Hayden and Meagan are making to reach out to others with positive and impressive initiatives."

Hayden was nominated by teacher Kathy Murray, who said, “Hayden organized a food drive, volunteered at a women and children’s shelter in Detroit and plans fundraisers to help others. It is very rare that a student as young as Hayden is selected to receive the Friend of Diversity Award — he is unique in the sense that he began doing community service work to help those in need when he was in kindergarten."

Murray shared in her nomination that when Hayden was in kindergarten, he became inspired when he attended the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and he heard a middle school student speak about his work to help homeless people in Detroit. As a 5-year-old, Hayden asked his mom if there were ways that he could help people, too. Hayden then organized a food drive at his school where almost 500 pounds of food was collected for a local food bank. He also volunteered at a women and children’s shelter in Detroit, where he ate, played games and made crafts with the children.

“I am very proud of Hayden for the work that he has done to make the world a better place and he is inspiring others at our school to do the same," said Michelle Fiebke-Lang, Hayden's principal. "Hayden is a young person who has truly made a difference by the compassion and caring that he has shown for those in need in the Detroit area and around the world.”

Granberry was nominated by Fiebke-Lang, who said, “Meagen has been instrumental in creating and implementing programs to bring diversity and social justice awareness to our students and the community.

“Granberry has worked tirelessly in all areas of her life as an advocate for diversity and social justice. At her school, Meagen has been instrumental in creating and implementing school-wide programs to bring diversity awareness to the students of Mary Helen Guest. Meagen has a deep understanding of what it means to be a teacher for social justice and she integrates social justice and diversity topics throughout the curriculum for her third grade students,” Fiebke-Lang said.

She is a long-standing member of the district's Social Justice Committee. She has invested a lot of time in working on the district’s social justice initiatives and she is eager to share her passion for this work with others. Granberry is one of the lead authors of the four social justice training modules that were written for the school district during the past year and she has co-presented the module that she wrote on “Small Changes to Integrate Social Justice Topics in the Classroom” several times for both teachers and administrators. Fiebke-Lang said in her nomination for Granberry that “I have no doubt that Meagen’s daily interactions with both students and staff have planted the seeds of peace deep in the soil of our community.

“Meagan has done so much over the years to help children and adults who are facing the challenges of poverty, hunger and injustice. Meagen is a warm and caring person, and a talented and dynamic educator who has truly gone above and beyond the call of duty to make our diversity initiatives in the Walled Lake Schools very successful,” Fiebke-Lang added.